After losing at home last weekend – Ottawa’s second loss at TD Place in league play this season – Fury FC will be looking to bounce back when they host the best team in the USL Eastern Conference.

Ottawa Fury FC weren’t their scoring selves and needed the help of Bethlehem Steel FC defender Auston Trusty to get on the board in a 2–1 loss at TD Place last weekend. Early in the match, Trusty was credited with an own-goal for deflecting Tucker Hume’s cross into the net.

While Fury FC attackers have scored in eight of their last nine matches, Canadian international Carl Haworth (Ottawa’s leading scorer in 2016) is still looking for his first goal of the season. Haworth spent the first 12 weeks of the season recovering from an ankle injury – but has played well since his return and came painfully close to scoring last week.

Saturday’s opposition ride into the capital on a 12-game unbeaten streak (8W-4D-0L) but Ottawa remain a strong at home with a record of 4W-4D-2L.

Live stream: August 12 at 7pm

While last week’s loss to Bethlehem Steel FC marked the club’s only second-ever loss at TD Place in USL action, Manager Paul Dalglish is confident his side will turn up for the final match of a four-game home stand. “This is our home patch,” says Dalglish, “so we’re certainly not going to be intimidated by Charlotte.”

Ottawa Captain Lance Rozeboom echoes: “They are a very good team… We have to show them some respect, but not too much respect.”

Photo by Steve Kingsman (Twitter: @OttawaFuryFC)

“We’ve beaten Vancouver here, we’ve beaten Toronto here. It’s a USL team that comes here and we feel that on our day we can be the best team in the league. We want to take it to them from the first minute.” –Paul Dalglish

Fury FC will undoubtedly need to be at their best to beat the Eastern Conference leaders whose leading scorers Enzo Martinez and Jorge Herrera (12 goals each) have tallied as many goals between them as Ottawa Fury FC has all season (24 goals in league play).

Martinez returns to the lineup after missing Wednesday’s draw in Toronto as a result of a one-match suspension.

Ottawa defender Shane McEleney will serve the first of his three-game suspension for an incident against Bethlehem Steel FC last Saturday. Though McEleney only received a yellow card in the match, official review has resulted in a red card for “violent conduct” – a bad foul late in the game. Charlotte will be without left winger Donald Smith, who picked up a red card in the 2-2 draw against Toronto FC II on Wednesday.

Kickoff is at 7pm on Saturday August 12 when Ottawa Fury FC play Charlotte Independence. Tickets cost $18 online or at the TD Place Box Office (1015 Bank St).